As we discussed above, this helps to ensure the firm can meet its revenue requirements and that each lawyer is pulling their own weight. Typically, law firms require that their lawyers work between 1,700 and 2,300 billable hours per year, though it can vary by firm, practice area, and experience.
Non-billable hours are the work hours you spend which are not going to be directly charged to the client. Some examples of non-billable work hours are things such as team meetings, staff development/training, or networking and attending conferences.
It also includes time spent on research, drafting legal documents and other non-billable activities that are crucial to case preparation. So while 1,900-2,000 billable hours might seem like a lot, it's all part of the job description and essential to the operation of a law firm.
Some examples of non-billable work hours are things such as team meetings, staff development/training, or networking and attending conferences. These are items which would raise the eyebrows of any client when appearing in their invoice, as they are not specifically for that client.
But remember what we talked about at the beginning of this post: on average, lawyers only bill for 30 percent of the hours they work. The rest are spent on administrative tasks. So let's say you have to work 2,000 billable hours per year and only 30 percent of the hours you work are billable.
Misleading the Public Some states take the position that failure to have a physical address is misleading to the public and a violation of Rule 7.2. Other states, such as Florida, and Ohio have issued ethics opinions specifically authorizing virtual practices, while others haven't addressed the issue at all.
Outside of a few exceptions, the general rule in the U.S. is that only licensed attorneys can own law firms.
Average Lawyer Hourly Rates by State StateAverage Hourly Rate 2023Average Hourly Rate 2022 Arkansas $242 $248 California $344 $358 Colorado $261 $271 Connecticut $342 $35047 more rows
Non-billable expenses refer to expenses that won't be charged directly to clients over the course of completing a project. Common examples of non-billable expenses can include office supplies, rent, utilities, software subscriptions, and salaries for employees who are not directly involved in billable work.